Lesley Ann Warren was originally offered a straight comic role as a Jean Harlow type in “Victoria/Victoria” (1982) but after a few days Blake Edwards decided to enlarge her role.

“Do you sing? Do you dance?” Warren recently recalled the writer-director asking her, a chuckle in her voice. Of course she did, Warren — who’s promoting the re-release of the gender-bending musical through the Warner Achive Collection — told Edwards.

In fact, Warren shot to stardom at age 18 in 1965, when she starred in a CBS production of Rogers and Hammerstein’s musical “Cinderella” — a role that Edwards’ own wife Julie Andrews (who co-starred with James Garner in “Victor/Victoria”) had created on TV in 1957.

Warren says her dumb blonde in the movie was a high point of her career.

“Blake’s encouragement of me and my vision for this character really allowed me to explore parts of myself on film I had never done before. I had this idea that she grew up on the Lower East Side with 14 siblings and wanted to copy Jean Harlow. So he sent his hair and makeup people over to my house, and I figure he’s either going to love or it he’s going to fire fire.”

The actress said she particularly enjoyed doing the scene where her character discovers that Andrews’ Victoria — a woman pretending to be a man who’s a female impersonator — is actually a woman. “It was all improvised, and all of that was so much fun for me. And I enjoyed my musical number, ‘Chicago, Ilinois,’ even more.”

“Victoria Victoria” gave Warren a new, sexier image that was cemented in a scene on a train platform where her character opens her coast and flashes her bra and panties to onlookers.

The director originally wanted her to do the scene topless, “but my son was 14 at the time and I wasn’t crazy about the idea. I asked Julie what to do, and she advised, ‘Just beg and plead.’ I did and he decided it wasn’t necessary. I was very glad about that.”

The film Warren gets asked about most these days is “Clue” (1985), an adaptation of the board game in which she plays an especially sexy Miss Scarlet.

“It’s found a whole new audience, there are people in their 20s who recite all of the dialogue,” she says.

But Warren is not happy that a remake is in the works.

“There are certain classics you should leave alone,” she says.

Reminded that “Cinderella” was a remake, Warren added, “well, maybe if they offer me a cameo.”